Molly Ringwald returns to first love: jazz

For Molly Ringwald, before the days of movie fame and “Brat Pack” notoriety, there was jazz.

By Joe BurnsContributing Writer

Before the days of movie fame and “Brat Pack” notoriety, there was jazz.

Film star Molly Ringwald, the daughter of jazz pianist Bob Ringwald, began singing jazz with her father’s band at the age of 3. And singing jazz is what she’ll be doing Thursday, Aug 10 at a sold-out concert at the Crown & Anchor in Provincetown, when she headlines the ongoing Provincetown Jazz Festival. She'll be accompanied by Alex Smith on piano, Ron Ormsby on bass, and Bart Weisman on drums. Pianist Takumi Kakimoto will open for Ringwald, also accompanied by Ormsby and Weisman.

Singing opened the way to Ringwald’s acting career when, at the age of 10, she was given the lead role in the Los Angeles stage production of “Annie.” Ringwald followed that up a year later with a major role in the television series “The Facts of Life.”

Ringwald was barely into her teens when she received a Golden Globe nomination for her role in the independent film “Tempest.” But it was in the ‘80s, when the adolescent Ringwald starred in John Hughes’ trio of teen-age flicks -- “Sixteen Candles,” “The Breakfast Club” and “Pretty in Pink” – that she became a household name and she and her young “Breakfast Club” co-stars were dubbed “The Brat Pack.”

While Ringwald has continued her acting career, she has branched out creatively. Last year, she returned to her first love, releasing her debut recording “Except Sometimes,” an album made up of mostly jazz standards from the Great American Songbook.

Along with her return to singing, she has also turned her talents to writing. She has published two books: a self-help book, “Getting the Pretty Back: Friendship, Family, and Finding the Perfect Lipstick” and “When It Happens to You: A Novel in Stories.” In addition, Ringwald has recently begun writing an advice column for The Guardian news service.

Prior to her Cape appearance, Ringwald emailed some answers to our questions about her life and career.

Cape Cod Times: Will this be your first time visiting Cape Cod, Provincetown?

CCT: You started out singing with your father as a child before you got into acting. Is singing your first love?

MR: Yes. It’s what I have done the longest.

CCT: Had you put aside singing for a time in order to focus on your acting career, if so what prompted you to return to singing?

MR: It was something I always wanted/intended. It just took longer than I expected!

CCT: How has your acting experience helped you as a vocal performer?

MR: I approach every song as an actress (or writer). I ask myself the same questions: to whom I’m singing, and why. What is the emotional truth of the song? Is there an interest in subverting what the song seems to be saying? I don’t know if I would have done this if I hadn’t had years of acting training. Its second nature now and I can’t imagine not approaching music this way.

CCT: Your father was a jazz musician and Anthony Michael Hall, your co-star in “Sixteen Candles” and“The Breakfast Club,” is the son of jazz singer Mercedes Hall. Did the two of you bond over that shared background?

MR: I often went to hear Mercedes sing and vice-versa.

CCT: You’ll be releasing a live album later this year recorded at Birdland. What was it like for you performing at such an iconic jazz club?

MR: It was thrilling and fun to do what I love to do in my favorite city in the world.

CCT: Your debut album, “Except Sometimes” opens and closes with songs either written for or closely associated with movies. Is there some significance to that?

MR: Coincidence. It was also what Concord record (the label who released “Except Sometimes” preferred, and I thought it was a good sequence.

CCT: You close the album with “Don’t You (Forget About Me),” the intro/outro song for “The Breakfast Club.” Referencing a song from early in your career and giving it a more mature, sophisticated treatment seems a way of bringing the listener up to speed on where you’ve been and where you are now. What were your reasons for its inclusion and placement on the album?

MR: I was literally working on the album when I heard that John Hughes died. I wanted to include it as a tribute to him. (Αnd also what you mentioned in your question is exactly right.)

CCT: In “Ursa Minor,” a story in your book “When it Happens to You,” a former children’s television star tries to rebuild his life. It begs the question, was any of that drawn from personal experience?

MR: I was not a children’s TV star. (Nor am I a man!) That character was more of an imagining of a person who actually did a show with an animated character a la “Blue’s Cluess” or something of the like for a long period of time. But having said that, I feel like (I) am all of my characters a little because I put my imagination and empathy in them.”